implicature

American

[im-pli-kuh-cher] / ˈɪm plɪ kə tʃər /

noun

Philosophy, Linguistics.

potential inference that is not logical entailment.

implicature British

/ ɪmˈplɪkətʃə /

noun

a proposition inferred from the circumstances of utterances of another proposition rather than from its literal meaning, as when an academic referee writes the candidate's handwriting is excellent to convey that he has nothing relevant to commend
the relation between the uttered and the inferred statement

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of implicature

implicate + -ure

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

implicature

In the case of Dunne’s post, Basl said, “The implicature of the 10 seconds is: Here’s an easy-peasy way to write an essay.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 9, 2023

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023